1. Definition of the Invention
The present invention refers, in general, to features for preventing the dislodging of hangers attached to slatwall tracks and, more particularly, to a hanger adaptable for use with a slatwall track and a retainer therefor.
2. Description of the State of Art
The walls of a building in residential, commercial and industrial buildings are frequently provided with one or more slatwall tracks used in combination with hangers to display a variety of objects off the floor of the building. The objects can be similar, such as in a display for merchandise in retail stores, for example shoes, or they can vary in shape, size, weight and type, such as in a garage or workshop, etc. to suspend, for example, gardening or other hand tools. The hangers can also be used to support shelves for storing or displaying various items. The slatwall tracks are made of metal, metal alloys or plastic and formed by an extrusion. Slatwall tracks are generally secured to a building structure, which includes without limitation any walls, such as temporary or permanent walls. The walls may or may not be covered with wallboard. The slatwall tracks are attached with screws directly to walls having physical strength, to an existing frame or studs normally used to hold the wallboard.
Often a slatwall track is interlockingly connected with an identical upper and/or lower slatwall track(s). Also, two or more usually like-shaped slatwall tracks are mounted vertically spaced and horizontally aligned and parallel. A single slatwall track, mounted alone, is also used. Usually, several hangers or other supporting devices are attached
A main disadvantage of hangers secured to slatwall tracks resides in the fact that the attachment of the former to the latter is unreliable. Hangers can be dislodged following an unintentionally caused vertical push that forces the hangers' brackets to move vertically until they cease their engagement with slatwall tracks and, then, turn around and fall to the ground. The people around can be injured and the hung items can be damaged. When loaded hangers are positionally displaced, dislodging can easily occur.
Attempts have been made to solve the dislodging problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,971,614 granted on Dec. 6, 2005 to Fischer et al. for a “SLATWALL HANGER STABILIZING CLIP” discloses a slatwall assembly including several interlocked tracks. Each of the tracks has an upper and lower end provided with a lip with an inside surface, so that adjacent tracks form a channel with a narrow outer portion and a wider inner portion. A hanger comprises an upper end that is inserted into an upper channel, and a lower end that hangs near a lower adjacent channel. A stabilizing clip has a main body and an extending brace. The body is sized and shaped to firmly snap fit into the lower channel. The brace extends upwardly along a middle track to form a channel for receiving the lower end of the hanger and retaining it against the surface of a middle track. The main shortcoming of the foregoing stabilizing clip resides in the fact that it does not prevent completely an upward inadvertently caused movement of the hanger, although it retains the lower end of the hanger against pivoting around the upper end.